Beaverdale

Beaverdale

Five Beaverdale wine kit boxes standing on a wooden bench: Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Grenache Rosé, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc, each with a coloured top panel over a black-and-white riverside photograph.

Beaverdale is a no-sugar wine kit sold in two sizes: a 30-bottle box that makes 22.5 litres, and a 6-bottle box for a single demijohn. The box holds a bag of grape juice concentrate with the yeast, stabiliser and finings in sachets; the line on the front — "nothing further to add except water" — is the whole recipe. Each kit is a single grape variety or a named blend, and the reds, whites and rosés are colour-coded by the top panel of the box.

In price and pace Beaverdale sits between Cellar 7 and Winexpert: a 30-bottle kit costs around £46.50 against £35 and £60 respectively, and it is not a seven-day kit — it takes the ordinary course of fermentation, racking and clearing, and the bigger reds, the Cabernet Sauvignon especially, improve with keeping. The 6-bottle size, at £15.60, is the cheap way to try a variety before committing to 30 bottles of it, and the only way we sell the Californian, Gewürztraminer, Melon Blanc and White Burgundy kits. Equipment is the usual fermenter, airlock, hydrometer and syphon; our wine making starter kits cover it.

The kits we stock (both sizes unless noted):

  • Cabernet Sauvignon — full-bodied red, firm tannin when young, softening with age.
  • Cabernet Shiraz — full-bodied blend, blackcurrant from the Cabernet, plum and spice from the Shiraz; soft tannin.
  • Shiraz — ripe, bold New World-style red.
  • Merlot — soft, fruity red with little astringency.
  • Malbec — medium-bodied purple red; drinks young or keeps.
  • Pinot Noir — fruity, spicy red, blackcurrant on the nose.
  • Nebbiolo — robust, deeply coloured red.
  • Rojo Tinto — Spanish-style red, assertive tannin and an oaky finish.
  • Vieux Château du Roi — Châteauneuf-style red, full-bodied but soft and quick to mature, oak aroma.
  • Californian Red (6-bottle only) — Zinfandel-style red, deep colour, full flavour.
  • Blush — light, refreshing pink in the Zinfandel Blush style.
  • Grenache Rosé (30-bottle only) — smooth, mellow rosé from the Garnacha grape.
  • Chardonnay — crisp, full white.
  • Sauvignon Blanc — dry white in the Bordeaux style.
  • Pinot Grigio — dry, floral white with fresh acidity.
  • Californian White (6-bottle only) — White Zinfandel style from Chenin, mellow and fruity with a floral finish.
  • Gewürztraminer (6-bottle only) — spicy, perfumed Alsace-style white, dry with a hint of sweetness.
  • Melon Blanc (6-bottle only) — the kit formerly sold as Muscadet; fresh acidity and a flinty edge.
  • White Burgundy Style (6-bottle only) — full-bodied white, peach and apricot.

See the Beaverdale range